Friday, March 28, 2014

Rest Stop

Working, working, working...

At this point in a book project, I think I've arrived at my own personal Death Zone in that Climbing the Illustrative Everest analogy. The enthusiasm is all there, but mind and body are beginning to weary. Hallucinations must be close.

For a break (and to work out some technical printing issues I'm having), I worked on a composition from last year, a little piece inspired by a rest area we stopped at outside of McMinville, Oregon. The Douglas Fir towered above me and my fellow travelers (I didn't exaggerate the human scale here!). Taking a stretch under the dappled summer light offered complete restoration before continuing our journeys, back into Subarus and CRVs.

Haven't had time to color it, but thought it might be interesting for you to see what value does in between all those tree trunks, before and after I add color and shadow. It looks chaotic now, but there is a pattern in there! I'll post the color work when I finish.

2 comments:

Jennifer Cahill
said...

You have captured the enormity of the Doug Firs well! There are some giants! You will have to post the color version, although I am liking the b&w. BTW, the "Ben C." comment on the post before this one is actually mine...Ben's got a google account and I forgot to change the "identity" before hitting "publish comment."

About Me

ILLUSTRATION FOR ALL SEASONS

I'm an Illustrator-Writer living in a tallgrass prairie state (although Pacific salt water still runs through my veins.) I find inspirations around every corner. Some days I write about pictures. Some days I draw about words. It's all in telling the story.